The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States (FEMA) hosts the FEMA Flavor Ingredient Library on its website, femaflavor.org, to help the public better understand how flavor ingredients are evaluated for safety and approved for their intended uses. The FEMA Flavor Ingredient Library, which is accessible to both FEMA members and non-members, was created to be a go-to resource for researchers, the media and consumers seeking information on flavor ingredients whose safety has been determined to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the independent FEMA Expert Panel. It includes identifier information for all flavor ingredients with FEMA GRAS status, links to FEMA GRAS publications and links to safety assessment information.

While all the information in the FEMA Flavor Ingredient Library has been publically available previously on various governmental websites, scholarly journals and other resources, the Library allows website visitors to more easily access safety information from a centralized location via a user-friendly interface. Users can peruse flavors based on GRAS numbers or use the search bar to pinpoint specific ingredients. On the Library’s landing page, website visitors also have access to safety assessments, GRAS publications, and other top flavor ingredient resources.

The creation of the FEMA Flavor Ingredient Library builds on FEMA’s history of making information about FEMA GRAS determinations transparent and available to the public. FEMA welcomes consumer interest in flavors and is glad to provide the Flavor Ingredient Library as a resource to help explain how we know these ingredients are safe and how they influence our enjoyment of foods and beverages.

The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States (FEMA) was founded in 1909 and is the national association of the U.S. flavor industry. FEMA’s membership is comprised of flavor manufacturers, flavor users, flavor ingredient suppliers, and others with an interest in the U.S. flavor industry. The association is committed to ensuring a safe supply of flavor ingredients used in foods and beverages enjoyed by billions of men, women, and children around the world.